In 2022-2023, I am a Research Fellow at the Institute of Midrashic Studies of the New Testament, completing a Masters of Science in New Testament Research.
What is Midrash you ask?
Midrash is an ancient Jewish Bible interpretation method. The New Testament authors extensively used Midrash, but this has never been a focus of research by Christian or Jewish scholars--until now.
For example, it has so far been forensically confirmed that seven (7) of the Apostle Paul's letters are complete Midrashim (Hermeneutics) of seven whole books of the Old Testament in chapter and verse order, including replicating changes in literary style in the source books (poetry, prose, narrative, song, etc):
- Genesis - Hebrews
- Exodus - Galatians
- Leviticus - Romans
- Numbers - 2 Timothy
- Deuteronomy - 1 Timothy
- Joshua - Titus
- Isaiah - Ephesians
This is cutting edge research sponsored by excited members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel, who have come to understand that their well justified anti-Christian bias has caused them to overlook the oldest written evidence of this Jewish Biblical Interpretive Method which predates Talmud by 200 years. The Research Fellows are Christian seminary students tasked with formally documenting, "The Oldest Midrash" by writing research papers for publication in prestigious academic journals worldwide.
I am grateful for Dr. David Pitcher for paving the way on this modern-day groundbreaking and explosive research, and Root Source for seeing the value of this important area of research. Root Source, was established in 2014, works to create bridges of engagement between Christians and Jews, primarily through symposia and online courses presented by Christian and Jewish scholars and rabbis, based on a strong sense of mutual respect, shared vision, and personal friendship.
